Hey Puts! Thanks for always updating us on the Kala-girls' activities. I have a question and would like your thoughts on this. I'm curious as to why Hikaru doesn't sing her anime tie-ins or songs she made under Helical. I admit I'm not the most well-informed on her set lists and maybe I've missed a few where she did include these songs but if not, I would love to see her sing these songs. As I'm writing this, I even think about Keiko's old songs and wish she came back to it like songs from her Lantana album. Inochi no Hana or Tameiki no Kieru Machi for example. Remember "Nobody Knows You." I wonder how she'd approach all these songs now.
Anyway, do let me know if I've missed their setlists and they've actually included their old (for a lack of a better word) songs. If not, why do you think that is?
That's a really interesting question, and one I've wondered about myself from time to time, at least with regard to Hikaru.
It's true that Hikaru doesn't regularly build her setlists around older material, though it's not as if she never revisits it. Hikaru has occasionally performed songs from her H-el-ical// days, with "TSUMUGU" and her anime tie-ins (such as "disclose") being the most notable examples. With Keiko, I feel like it's not that big of an issue actually. She has brought back many songs from her older albums, including her debut tracks "Inochi no Hana", "Be Yourself" or staples like "Nanairo no Finale", "endroll" and "Burn in the Wind". So it's clear to me that neither of them has completely abandoned their earlier work, they just generally seem a bit more focused on their current work, which makes sense if you are continuously making new music like they do. This is especially true for Hikaru who regularly releases new tracks dedicated to specific styles, genres, themes and motifs. Her lives and tours always reflect a unique concept so it's probably difficult (and kinda off-topic) to squeeze in too many old songs.
My personal theory is that it's less about disliking those older songs and more about artistic priorities. Both Hikaru and Keiko seem to view each phase of their careers as a distinct chapter. Rather than centering their concerts on older work for the sake of nostalgia (although not unheard of!), they often use the stage as opportunity to showcase who they are as artists in the present. They are proud of what they have achieved and how they have grown as artists. Keiko for example has worked so hard to improve her guitar skills so she will naturally favour songs that she can already play on the guitar, other songs inevitably fall by the wayside.
Another aspect worth considering is how much more creatively involved both of them have become over the years. During much of their earlier careers, they were primarily interpreters of material created and overseen by others. Today, both Hikaru and Keiko play a much more active role in shaping their music. Hikaru has increasingly established herself as a lyricist and rock legend, while Keiko has not only written lyrics but has also become involved in composition. There seems to be a genuine sense of artistic ownership in their recent work. Because of that, I can imagine that performing newer songs carries a different emotional significance. Those songs don't just represent their voices; they represent their thoughts, experiences, and creative decisions as well. Having gradually gained more agency over their artistic output, it's only natural that they might feel particularly attached to the music they've helped create from the ground up.
There may also be practical considerations behind the scenes. In Hikaru's case, I've sometimes wondered whether the transition from H-el-ical// to her current independent activities plays a role. H-el-ical// was tied to a different management and label structure, and while artists can often perform songs from previous projects, there can sometimes be licensing, royalty, or administrative considerations involved. Whether that's actually the case here, I have no idea, but it's one possible factor. Even if performing those songs is legally straightforward, there may be additional costs or permissions involved compared to performing material that she currently controls more directly. I wonder if Hikaru has ever talked about this in one of her weekly live streams? I rarely get to watch them so I am probably missing a lot of important context.
That said, I suspect artistic preference is the bigger factor. If rights issues were the main obstacle, we probably wouldn't have seen Hikaru perform songs like "TSUMUGU" at all. The fact that she regularly brings back some of her older work suggests that the door isn't closed, even if it's not something she chooses to do on a bigger scale.
Additionally, let's circle back to this idea of concept concerts mentioned earlier. These days, both Hikaru and Keiko prefer to hold very small lives with certain structural constraints that often result in very specific setlists in order to match the visual and thematic arc. Compare this to Wakana's concerts for example, which may have an overarching theme as well but it's not as restricted which allows her to pick songs from her entire catalogue without anything seeming out of place.
Ultimately, I think it's probably a combination of several factors. Both Hikaru and Keiko have shown they're willing and happy to revisit older material on occasion (and it probably happens more often than you think), but they seem more focused on moving forward than looking back. As fans, we naturally have our favourite songs we'd love to hear more regularly performed, yet from their perspective those songs may represent a chapter in their career that no longer perfectly aligns with their current vision. Or it's for a much simpler reasons such as them not having the capacity to squeeze in further tracks. And while there may be practical considerations regarding older work created as part of a separate project (at least in Hikaru's case), my guess is that artistic growth and creative ownership play a much larger role in determining what ends up on a setlist these days. The more involved they've become in the songwriting process, the more understandable it is that they would want to spotlight the music that most fully reflects who they are now as artists.
When their live activities increase and their events are held on a larger scale, those rarely performed songs are more likely to make a reappearance but we'll have to be patient I guess.
